Hey guys :) This is a new story I came up with a few days ago. Basically it's set during this season but there are a few things that are different. Kathy and Elliot got divorced in season 8 and Kathy has moved on. Elliot has not. Olivia helped him through the divorce as she helps him through everything, but now she has a boyfriend. She has only introduced him to everyone at work once but things are a little more serious than they realize. Something happens to make Elliot realize what he really wants...and that's Olivia...but is it too late?
Olivia Benson was sitting at her desk at midnight going through paperwork with her fellow Detectives Elliot, Finn and Munch. She awes' tired and wanted to go home but she knew that they had to finish this work before morning.
For almost a year she had been in a relationship with the District Attorney of the Bronx, Jake O'Conner. She had never been so happy in a relationship, things were going strong and she felt confident that they would stay that way. Because Jake worked as a DA, he understood her job and didn't get jealous when she had to work alongside Elliot a lot.
Speaking of Elliot, she couldn't help but notice how strange he had been acting lately. This was their 12th year as partners and she usually could read him like a book but in the last few months…he had been distant.
It had been four years since Elliot and Kathy had been divorced and she had moved on to a new man. Elliot however, was still single and it didn't seem he wanted to start dating anytime soon. She was worried about him…
As she filled the papers out her cell phone rang and she flipped it open to see a text from her boyfriend Jake. A smile filled her face when she read the sweet message form him and it didn't go unnoticed by Finn.
"Let me guess…that's Jake." Finn said smirking at her as he walked to her desk, trying to steal her phone from her hands.
She quickly put it in her pocket and tried to hide her smile. "Shut up."
"You guys are going on ten months…things must be very serious." He said leaning against her desk.
Olivia laughed. "I'm not having this conversation with you."
"Oh come on Liv…we've only met the guy once and you've almost been together for a year!" Munch said.
Olivia rolled her eyes. "I really care about this guy and I don't want to ruin it by introducing him to the three stooges."
"Ouch." Finn said. "And I thought we meant more to you."
Olivia pushed him off her desk as she stood up to get more coffee. "You guys do mean a lot to me…but I don't know…I'm just trying really hard to keep this relationship. Jake's different…"
"Different how?" Elliot asked finally joining the conversation.
Olivia turned around as she took a sip of her coffee. "Well…I don't know he just…he respects me. He accepts my job and how much I have to work. He makes me laugh…he's incredibly giving. He's just…he's great."
"No dark secrets in his closet?" Elliot asked.
Olivia rolled her eyes again. "No. And don't you dare go snooping!"
"Oh come on Liv…you know we can't just let you date anyone." Munch said. "We have to protect you."
"I can protect myself thank you very much." She said smiling as she sat down. "And I don't need protection from Jake…he's a great guy."
"So you keep saying." Elliot whispered.
"He is." Olivia said looking directly at him. "No other guy has treated me with such respect…"
Elliot nodded. "Well…Good."
"Yeah. Good." Olivia said looking down at her desk. "Now I don't know about you guys…but I want to get out of here soon! So…if you don't mind let's all stop talking about my personal life so we can get this done!"
"Alright…alright." Finn said walking back to his desk. "We'll give it a rest for now."
Olivia just laughed as she went back to work, she was so lost in thoughts she didn't notice Elliot staring at her. But it didn't go unnoticed by Finn and Munch…
Finally by 1:30 Olivia put her paperwork in Cragen's office and grabbed her coat. "Alright guys…I'm heading home. See you in a few hours."
They said their goodbye's and when Olivia left the office Finn looked over at Elliot. "So what's eating at you…"
It took him a minute but Elliot finally looked over at Finn. "Are you talking to me?"
Finn laughed. "Uh…yeah."
Elliot shook his head. "Nothing…I'm fine. Why?"
"Well you've been staring at Olivia all night." Finn said.
"Have not." Elliot said looking away from him.
Munch now interfered. "Uh yeah you were. I saw it too."
Elliot sighed. "I'm just…worried about her."
"Why? She's never been as happy as she is now." Finn said.
"I know…and that's what worries me." Elliot said leaning back in his chair. "I mean…what do we really knew about this Jake guy?"
"We know he's a great lawyer…Casey told us that. He's smart…went to Yale. And most importantly...he makes Olivia happy." Munch said. "Good enough for me."
"Yeah but…" Elliot sighed. "I don't know…it just all seems a little good to be true."
"Man why can't you just let Olivia be happy?" Finn asked. "Are you that selfish?"
"I'm not selfish!" Elliot yelled. "I just want what's best for her…and I don't know if he is what's best."
"When are you finally going to stop this little act of yours and finally admit how you feel about her?" Finn asked.
"Oh boy…" Munch whispered knowing things were about to get heated.
"What are you babbling about?" Elliot asked afraid to meet Finn's eyes.
"Elliot you've been in love with Olivia for as long as I can remember. What I don't understand is why you never made a move after you and Kathy got divorced? I mean it's been what…four years?" Finn asked.
"I…I seriously have no idea what you're talking about." Elliot said trying to fake a laugh. "Liv is just my friend…my best friend. That's it."
"Yeah. Okay." Finn said rolling his eyes. "Just do me a favor…don't ruin things for her right now. She deserves to be happy…don't complicate her relationship. She's finally in a good place and if you mess with that…well then we're going to have problems."
"I'm not going to mess with anything." Elliot said standing up. "If Olivia is happy then that's great…I was just trying to make sure Jake is as great of a guy as you all think. End of story."
"Okay." Finn said staring at him. "Whatever you say."
"Good. I'm out of here. See you later." Elliot said before grabbing his jacket and making his way out of the precinct.
Elliot walked down the street, he felt his heart beating fast, he wasn't sure if he was more angry or sad. He knew that Finn was right, he was being selfish. Ever since they had become partners, Olivia had had his back through everything. He had been mean and rude to her at times and she still stood by him. She helped him with his kids and through his divorce with Kathy and all he ever did was find ways to ruin things for her.
She was finally happy…he knew that. She came to work with a smile on her face everyday now, she seemed full of life. That should make him happy, he knew she had been lonely for a long time and now she wasn't. He just wished he was the one who was making her happy…the one keeping her from feeling lonely.
But the truth of the matter was he had no one to blame but himself. He had been divorced from Kathy for four years now, he had every chance to tell Olivia had how truly felt but he never did. He just sulked in his self-pity and dragged Olivia down with him until she met Jake.
It was selfish for him to want her with him, taking care of him and making him happy. If he really loved her he should be able to let her go, but that was the problem he loved her too much. He knew he was losing her, but he didn't know how to get her back.
Meanwhile at Olivia's apartment, she opened the door and walked to her bedroom expecting to be alone. She jumped when she saw Jake sitting up in her bed with a big smile on his face.
"Hey." He said.
She smiled at him. "Hi. You scared me." She said as she walked over to kiss him. "What are you doing here?"
"Well…after I texted you that I was going to bed I realized I didn't want to sleep alone." He said shrugging.
She smiled as she took off her coat and threw it on the chair beside her bed. "I like the way you think."
"How was work?" He asked as he pulled her down beside him on the bed.
She sighed. "Long…"
He chuckled. "How long?"
Olivia looked over at him. "Lots of paperwork. I mean it was good cuz we caught another scum bag but I'm tired. Not to mention the fact that the guys were asking about you again…they are very curious."
Jake smiled. "Well you know I would love to get to know them better. You're the one dragging your feet here."
She sighed. "I'm not dragging my feet…I just want to keep my work life and my private life separate."
"Why?" He asked pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear.
She stared at him for a moment. "It's just complicated…"
"Liv…" He whispered. "You know I love you right?"
She smiled weakly at him. "Yeah. I know that."
"Then what is it? What's so complicated?" He asked.
She was quiet for a moment. "I don't know. I think…I think at SVU I'm someone else. They know me in a way that no one else does…"
"I want to know every thing there is to know about you." Jake said. "I want you to let me in all the way. The way you let them in…the way you let Elliot in."
Olivia's eyes opened in shock. "What does Elliot have to do with anything?"
"He knows you better than I do." Jake said. "I've met the guy once and I could see that within thirty seconds."
Olivia sighed. "It's just because we've known each other so long. We're partners…we have to know each other well in order to protect each other. That's it…he's my friend. My best friend…but you…" She paused. "You're…"
"What am I?" Jake asked softly. "What am I to you?"
"You're the man I love." Olivia said smiling. "And…I've never said that to any other guy Jake. I've never been in love with another man before…at least not one that loved me back. This is new to me…I'm really trying."
He stared at her for a moment before leaning down to kiss her gently. "Okay." He said as he pulled back.
She stared at him as he rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. "Okay? Okay? I…what just happened?"
He chuckled. "You just opened up to me. I just needed to know that you were in this with me." He said.
'So...what does this mean?" Olivia asked. "Are we okay?"
He turned back to look at her. "We are okay."
"You know…" She paused. "I'm not so tired anymore."
He smiled at her. "You know what…me either." Olivia giggled as he rolled over on top of her, needles to say she wasn't getting any sleep tonight.
The next afternoon, Elliot was trying as hard as he could to get Olivia alone to talk to her. He had decided he had to clear the air once and for all between them, she had to know how he felt. He knew that it could possibly screw up everything they had but he had to know if he had a chance.
Olivia and Casey were sitting on Olivia's desk laughing and talking, he knew it was now or never. "Hey Liv."
Olivia looked from Casey to Elliot. "Hey El. What's up?"
"Do you have a minute?" He asked.
Olivia smiled. "Uh…yeah sure. Is everything okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah everything's fine. I just need to talk to you for a minute." He said.
Olivia looked at Casey who was just as curious as she was. "Okay."
"Liv!" A voice rang through the precinct catching all of their attention. "Olivia!"
"Jake?" Olivia asked looking towards the double doors, surprised to see him. "Jake what are you doing here?"
He laughed and ran over to her, pulling her in for a hug. "I had to come see you before anyone else."
"Why? What's going on?" Olivia asked.
Elliot could feel something big was coming, his heart was pounding, his moment was slipping away. "I just talked to my boss…there is an opening at the Los Angela's District Attorney office. They want me! I would be the head of the department there! Liv…I got a promotion. A huge promotion! Do you know how huge this is?"
Olivia stared at him for a moment trying to take in his words. "LA?"
He nodded. "Yeah! California baby!"
Elliot's heart sunk to his stomach, he knew what was coming next. "California…" Olivia whispered. "I…I mean I'm so happy for you. You deserve this but…"
"But what?" Jake asked. "What?"
"I…" She paused. "You would be moving to California…"
Jake stared at her for a moment. "I know. And that's why I wanted to talk to you first."
"I mean…did you take it?" She asked nervously.
"Yes. I said yes." He said. "But…I was hoping you would come with me."
Now Elliot felt sick, Casey's mouth opened in shock and Olivia felt dizzy. "Go with you? To California…"
Jake smiled at her. "Look I know this is a lot to digest right now but…" He took her hand. "Liv I love you."
"Jake…" Olivia whispered.
"Oh my God…" Casey said smiling.
"Jake what are you doing?" Olivia asked.
"I've been thinking about this for a long time and I know we haven't even been together for a year yet but I know how I feel about you." He said. "And after our talk last night…I know you feel the same."
"Oh my God…" Casey said again.
"So after I talked to my boss…I went to the jewelry store." He said slowly.
"Oh my God…" Elliot now repeated.
"Jake…Jake I-" Olivia said her hands starting to shake.
Slowly Jake went down on one knee. "Olivia Benson…will you marry me?"
"Oh my God…" Casey, Elliot and Olivia all said together.
"You're proposing…right here. Right now." Olivia said in shock. "I…I mean…I…"
He laughed. "I figured you would be shocked but it's okay to say yes."
Olivia stared directly into his eyes. "You're serious?"
"Yes. I've never been more sure of anything in my life Olivia. I love you…you're amazing." He whispered. "You're everything I've ever wanted and more…I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know what I'm asking…I'm asking you to leave everything you know and move across country with me. But I promise to take care of you…always and love you forever. Will you take that leap of faith with me?"
Olivia had tears streaming down her eyes, she looked at Casey who was smiling joyfully and then at Elliot whose eyes were wide in shock, but there was something else there. Pain. She couldn't take her eyes off of him until Jake pulled her back to reality.
"Liv? Baby what do you think?" Jake asked.
Olivia quickly turned from Elliot to Jake. "Yes." She whispered. "Yes I'll marry you…yes I'll go to California with you."
Jake hollered with happiness and slipped the ring on her finger before standing up and pulling her into his arms. He spun her around and Elliot just watched from the sidelines, wanting to punch Jake in the face. Casey was clapping as the rest of the precinct finally caught on to what was going on.
When Jake finally put her down, Olivia looked down at her hand. "I'm engaged."
Casey laughed. "You're engaged!"
"I'm engaged." Olivia said laughing. "Holy crap."
Jake laughed. "That's a good holy crap right?"
Olivia turned back to him. "Yes. Yes it is."
"Congratulations!" Casey said hugging Olivia and then turning to Jake. "I don't know you all that well but you make her happy so I like you."
Jake laughed. "Well I'm glad you approve."
Olivia turned to Elliot. "El…you've been quiet."
Elliot was still staring at her; his moment was completely ruined now. "I…"
"You said you wanted to talk to me about something…" She whispered. "I'm sorry this…" She laughed. "I didn't expect…"
Elliot smiled at her. "Right. No of course…"
She smiled up at him. "Can you believe this? Can you believe I'm getting married!"
He shook his head. "No. I mean…yes. But.." He was quiet for a moment. "California…"
Olivia made eye contact with him. "California…"
Jake sighed. "Yeah that part is…" He shrugged. "It's not going to be for awhile…you know…so…"
Olivia looked at Jake and then back to Elliot. "I uh…I mean it's not goodbye forever."
Elliot nodded. "Isn't it?"
Olivia felt her heart sink sadly. "No…"
Elliot shook his head, this wasn't the time to be selfish. "I…just…" He laughed. "Forget about it. Sorry…just shocked. Um…I'm happy for you." He said smiling. "You deserve to be happy…" He looked at Jake. "Jake makes you happy…"
Olivia looked over at Jake and put a hand on his cheek. "Yeah…he does."
Elliot nodded. "Alright. Then I'm happy for you. I'm happy for you."
Olivia turned back to Elliot and leaned up to hug him tightly. 'Thank you Elliot."
Elliot hugged her back, his eyes locked with Jake's who was staring intently at him. "You deserve this."
Olivia pulled back and turned to Jake. "I guess the two of you actually have to get to know each other now. After all…you're my finance and you're my best friend." Olivia said looking between them both.
Jake nodded slowly and put his hand out to Elliot. "Yeah. Yeah I guess we do need to get to know each other. Anyone who is important to you Liv should be important to me."
Elliot reached out slowly to shake Jake's hand. "You be good to her. Treat her right."
Jake nodded. "Don't worry. I will."
Finn walked over to them. "What did I miss?"
"Olivia and Jake are engaged!" Casey yelled.
Finn pulled Olivia in for a hug. "Congratulations!"
Olivia smiled. "Thank you!"
"And she's moving to California." Elliot said quickly.
Everyone turned to Elliot, his face was hard. "California?" Finn asked.
Olivia stared at Elliot for a moment before turning back to Finn. "Well not this second but yes…Jake got offered a promotion out there."
"Wow." Finn said. "Well…we're sure gonna miss you here baby girl."
Olivia stared at him. "I'm…I'm gonna miss you guys too. But…I can always visit." She turned to Jake. "Right?"
He nodded. "Of course."
Olivia looked back at Finn and then too Elliot. "See…we will still see each other."
"Right." Elliot said smiling. "I uh…I got the twins tonight so I'm gonna head home."
"No. We should go out to celebrate and I know it would mean a lot to Olivia if you were there." Jake said. "Please…come with us."
Elliot tried to smile but he shook his head. "I wouldn't be much fun today. You guys go…have fun."
He grabbed his coat and started to walk away, Olivia ran up to him quickly walking with him out the double doors. "El wait."
He turned to look at her. "I really gotta get the kids from school Liv."
"You're upset." She whispered. "I…Can we talk about this?"
Elliot stopped walking. "Liv…you're engaged." He said smiling weakly at her. "You should be celebrating with your fiancé."
"But you're my best friend." She said biting her lip. "I want you to celebrate with me. I want you to be happy for me."
"I am happy for you." He said nodding his head. "I just have to get the kids…"
"You wanted to talk to me about something before Jake came in…are you okay?" She asked quickly.
"Yeah. I just wanted your advice on something with Lizzie." He said lying through his teeth. "No big deal."
"Well do you want to talk about it now?" She asked hopefully, she knew he was keeping something from her and she hated that.
"No. No it's not important. I can handle it. You go out and celebrate. This is big!" He said putting his hands on her shoulders. "We can talk tomorrow."
"El…I wasn't expecting this to happen." She whispered.
He nodded. "I know that."
"California…" She whispered. "I mean I…you know you're…"
He nodded again, smiling but avoiding her eyes. "Liv you're a big girl. This is your life…I want you to do what's right for you. Jake seems like a really great guy and he loves you…I think that's great."
"El…" She whispered.
"I'm just gonna miss you." He said shrugging. "It will be weird not working with you."
"You've had other partners before." She said. "And…and this won't change our friendship right?" She asked hopefully.
He stared at her for a moment and then looked down at her ring. "No Liv. This doesn't change anything."
"Okay…" She whispered. "Okay."
He looked up at her eyes and smiled. "Okay."
Elliot took one last look at her before walking away, Jake walked up behind Olivia and put a hand on her shoulder. "You okay baby?"
Olivia looked at him quickly. "I…" She looked back to where Elliot had disappeared too and tried to hold in her tears, she didn't know why she was so upset. "Yeah I'm fine."
"Is Elliot okay?" He asked.
"Yeah…you know we've just been partners for thirteen years. It's strange to think I'll be leaving." She said turning to Jake.
Jake nodded. "I know. But Elliot wants you to be happy…and we love each other." He shrugged. "I mean you want to go with me right?"
She smiled at him. "Yeah. Yeah I do…it's just going to take some adjusting."
He smiled. "Well we can work on it together."
She smiled. "Right."
"Casey and Finn want to take us out for a drink to celebrate." He said. "You ready?"
Olivia nodded. "Yeah. Yeah I'm ready."
Olivia took Jake's hand and let him lead her back into the precinct where Finn and Casey were waiting. Her mind was reeling, in the last fifteen minutes, she had been proposed too, agreed to move across the country and she was pretty sure she just lost her best friend.
Outside, Elliot was walking as fast as he could down the street when Don Cragen walked up to him. "Hey."
"Not now." Elliot said storming past him.
Cragen sighed and tried to keep up with him. "Finn just texted me."
"Yeah so?" Elliot said walking straight past his car just needing fresh air.
"Liv is engaged." Cragen said. "She's moving to California."
"Yup. I was there." He said clenching his fists. "I don't need the play by play."
"Elliot calm down." Cragen said. "You're going to do something stupid."
Elliot whipped around quickly to stare at his boss. "How could she just say yes like that?"
"Elliot…don't do this." He said. "You are upset…stop blaming her."
"She should have said no." Elliot said. "California? California!" He laughed. "That's on the other end of the country."
"Elliot she deserves to be happy." Cragen said.
"Why can't I be the one to make her happy?" Elliot asked. "Why does it have to be this Jake guy? What do we even know him?"
"It can't be you because you never told her how you felt." Cragen said.
Elliot stared at him. "Yeah well it's too late."
"You could still tell her but I don't know if you should." Cragen whispered.
"Why not? Do you really want her to go to California?" Elliot asked.
"No. I don't. You know I think of Olivia like a daughter but if this is what she wants then I support it." Cragen said. "IF you tell her you will just upset her…"
"But what if she feels the same way?" Elliot asked. "Don't I deserve to know?"
"You've had thirteen years to tell her how you felt Elliot. I'm not trying to be mean or piss you off…but I care about Liv. I've seen her take care of you for a long time and she deserves her happy ending…this is it." Cragen sighed. "If you really love her let her go."
Elliot stared at his boss. "I don't think I can."
With that he walked away from Cragen and he knew better than to follow him. He just hoped Elliot didn't do something stupid that would not only hurt himself but Olivia as well.
So...what do you think? Should I continue? I still haven't finished my other story "Unexpected Happiness" so keep an eye out for updates on that too. If you guys like this one I'll be sure to update soon! Thanks!